Techno-Economic Investigation of a Hybrid Wind-Solar Distribution System Using Stochastic Optimization

Planning of distribution system, which includes renewable energy sources, is challenging due to system uncertainties. Therefore, this paper presents a two-stage Stochastic Programming (SP) optimization technique in order to find the optimal configuration of a hybrid wind-solar grid-connected distribution system. The proposed procedure use time correlated stochastic distribution models for system uncertainties in wind speed, solar radiation, energy market price, and load. The objective function of the optimization problem measures the total annual cost of the system. Various problem constraints are considered as well. A case study for a hybrid wind-PV grid-connected distribution system in North Texas is presented to illustrate the suggested optimization technique. Results of the SP give the optimal size for the wind farm, solar farm, and energy storage needed to meet the load, reliability requirements, and minimize the system annual cost.